We had a process ot using BizTalk to take in a reference file, then send data in via a table_type parameter in a stored procedure. The stored procedure uses a MERGE statement to insert and update; the update part of which does a CHECKSUM first to determine whether an update is even necessary. Then it happened, we had a reference row that should have been updated by the latest file, but it wasn't done. We checked the incoming and outgoing BizTalk Message in and out of the pipeline; everything looked ......

Granted, if you are just transforming data in the same SQL server, why would you do it in SSIS instead of just using Pivot and Unpivot in T-SQL query? But what about in the case where data comes from various sources? What I had fun doing was the ability to skip using Linked server, pull in data from different sources, like XML over web service. Another point that made me happy was the ability to simulate ROW_NUMBER() function with the merged data by using a Script Component. Anyway, I highly recommend ......

Windows Azure Boot Camp Note: http://wabcdemos.cloudapp.net/ Queue name must be lower case Unlimited number, but limited to 8kb in size must be serializable as XML GC runs once a week Producer to Consumer Example: WebRole PutMessage() to Queue, WorkerRole GetMessage(optional Timeout), (or/then, this part is unclear as to why I have to do this) RemoveMessage() (Q: Does this mean GetMessage, after successful, puts the message back on queue? That should not be right. From the notes I get, there is no ......

Notes from Windows Azure Drives: http://wabcdemos.cloudapp.net/ Why use this? One example is to satify PDF requirement (PDF files require a local temp drive) Durable NTFS drives Can be up to 1TB Commands: CloudDrive.InitializeCache() account.CreateCloudDrive() Must use Flush() to persist data Guidance: store key in config, encrypt it wrap key with service ......

Notes from camp: http://wabcdemos.cloudapp.net/ CreateCloudTableClient() CreateIfNotExists DeleteIfExists CreateTable Create Partition Key (don't use identity key as partition key) Create Row Key, must be unique per PartitionKey Use a lightweight copy to improve performance Use "batching" to increase performance, and also save money by reducing the number of transaction For example, ???Context.SaveChanges(Save... Queries Over 30 second is cancelled result > 1000, a continuation ......

2 months ago I learned that there is going to be a Windows Azure Boot Camp, free, 2-day, code-intensive. The only catch at the time for me was that I didn't have a laptop, a requirement for this camp. Thanks for my beautiful and tolerant wife, we provisioned and I got my dream machine. Waited and shopped for a long time to get a reasonable price, but I got the following spec: 8GB ram Necessary for me to run my virtual environments i-5 4-Core CPU Want 4-core for virtual environments, but not a fan ......

Hyper-V Virtual Machines Advantage: 64-bit support dynamic memory allocation multi-core CPU Can install Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 and later Disadvantage: Can't get sound to work on those machines yet [Updated 2011-05-05] This is disappointing, but I guess it fits most people's requirement as most people don't use Hyper-V for personal development environment. Guess I'll just have to set up those machines for remote connect. http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jo... ......

This is Day 2 of Microsoft Windows Azure Boot Camp. Yesterday was excellent, can't wait for the events today. One thing I do regret was not writing blogs about each topic yesterday; a mistake I will not repeat today.